Volleyball adds 3 transfers

[PonyPride]

From SMUMustangs.com:

Volleyball Adds Three Transfers

DALLAS (SMU)- Head Coach Sam Erger announced the addition of three transfers to the SMU volleyball roster for the 2024 season.

Nnedi Okamoor I MB I 6-4 I Florida
2023 (Senior at Florida): Saw action in 25 matches and 93 sets, starting in 21 matches during her senior season… Posted three career-highs against Tennessee on Nov. 3: 12 kills, hitting a .688 clip (11-0-16) and had 14.5 points… Ranked first on the team in blocks (120.0) and third in hitting percentage (.342)... Led the Gators in blocks 13 times last season… Average per set: 1.16 kills, 0.01 assist, 0.10 digs, 1.29 blocks and 1.84 points… Finished the season with 171.5 points, 120.0 blocks, 108 kills, nine digs and one assist.

2022 (Junior at Florida): Saw action in 14 matches and 19 sets during her junior campaign… Posted a season-high four kills against Arkansas on Oct. 29… Finished the season with 14 blocks, 10 kills and 17.0 points.

2021 (Sophomore at Florida): Saw action in 13 matches and 22 sets during her sophomore campaign… Notched a season-high four blocks against Mississippi State on Sept. 24… Finished the season with 11 kills, 15 blocks and 18.5 points.

2020 (Freshman at Florida): Saw action in 13 matches and 35 sets, including eight starts… Accumulated 44 points, 35 blocks and 25 kills on the year.

High School: 2019 Under Armour Honorable Mention All-America... 2019 PrepVolleyball.com No. 31 Senior Ace... 2019 Northwest Varsity All-Tournament Team... 2019 PrepVolleyball.com Honorable Mention All-America... 2019 Texas Sports Writer Association Class 6a First Team All-State... 2019 District Blocker of the Year... 2019 Hebron Volleyball MVP... 2019 Hebron Volleyball Team Captain... 2019 Texas High School First Team All-State... 2019 NISD All-Tournament Team... Two-time First Team All-District (18, 19)... 2018 Texas Sports Writer Association Honorable Mention... 2018 AVCA Phenom List... 2017 Texas 6A State Champions... Three-time Academic All-District (17, 18, 19).

Awards and Honors:
SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll (2022)
Two-time SEC Defensive Player of the Week (Nov. 2, 2022 & Sept. 25, 2023)
SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll (2021)
SEC First Year Academic Honor Roll (2020)

Natalie Foster I MB I 6-4 I Wichita State
2023 (Junior at Wichita State): Named First Team All-Conference and AVCA All-Region North for a second straight season… Started all 34 matches and played in all 128 sets… Ended the season with a hitting percentage of .413, tops in the American Athletic Conference and 12th nationally. None of the 11 players with a better hitting percentage had more than Foster's 673 attempts… Led the Shockers with 436.0 total points, the ninth-highest total for any middle in the country. Finished second on the team with 2.78 kills per set… Earned 126.0 total blocks, establishing a new career high and ranking 76th nationally.

2022 (Sophomore at Wichita State): Named First Team All-Conference, AVCA All-Region North, and CSC Academic All-District after emerging as one of the nation's most efficient middles… Ranked second on the club with 3.69 points per set and 3.01 kills per set, checking in 31st nationally with a .382 hitting percentage… Had 21 matches with 10 or more kills, highlighted by a stretch of 14 in a row from October 7 to November 20… Named to the American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll four times, and was selected Defensive Player of the Week on September 5… Named to AD Honor Roll in Fall 2022 and Spring 2023… Named to AAC All-Academic Team.

2021 (Freshman at Wichita State): Named Second Team All-Conference after leading all AAC middles with 197 kills in conference play… Twice named to American Weekly Honor Roll (10/25 and 11/29)... Appeared in all 29 matches and all 117 sets. Finished sixth in the league with .334 hitting percentage, best among all AAC freshmen… Had 11 matches with double-digit kills, all in conference play, including four matches of 16 or more kills on less than 30 attacks… Earned 77 blocks.

2021 Freshman (Spring Season)*: Played in nine matches and 30 sets...Posted 71 kills on 146 attempts with 21 errors for a .342 attacking percentage...Had four service aces, 14 digs, two block solos and 17 block assists.
*Season played in spring due to COVID-19 pandemic

High School: Four-year letterwinner and starter, and senior team captain at Mattawan High School…Named second team all-state as a junior, and was honorable mention all-state as a freshman and sophomore…Four-time first team all-conference honoree…Three-time selection to the Beast of the East All-Tournament Team…Averaged 12.2 kills per set and hit .398 as a senior…In her career, played in 457 games, compiling 1,698 kills, a .387 attacking percentage, 3.72 kills per set, 224 aces, 226 blocks and 168 digs…Helped her team to district titles three times (2017-19)…Also was an all-state and all-conference basketball player, and tallied four triple-doubles (points, rebounds, blocks).

Personal: Daughter of David and Heidi Foster…Has a brother, Nolan…her mother, Heidi, played basketball and volleyball at Michigan Technological University, her father, David, played basketball at Siena College.

Awards and Honors:
Two-time All- American Athletic Conference Selection (2022 & 2023)
Two-time AVCA All-Region North Selection (2022 & 2023)
Second-Team All-AAC Selection (2021)

Ellie Bolton I DS/L I 5-7 I Creighton
2023 (Senior at Creighton): Played 82 sets in 26 matches… Recorded 99 assists and 20 service aces… Record 295 digs, averaging 3.6 per set.

2022 (Junior at Creighton): Started 12 of 32 matches, including the final five… Ranked second on the team with 38 service aces and 454 serve attempts… Her 0.40 aces per set in league play ranked third in the BIG EAST and her 0.32 aces in all matches were ninth-best in the conference… Had 37 digs in CU's first 14 matches, then had 112 in the last 18.

2021 (Sophomore at Creighton): Started one and played in 30 matches… Averaged 1.70 digs, 0.18 assists and 0.06 service aces per set.

2020 (Freshman at Creighton): Served as CU's libero in 52-of-62 sets and became first freshman to lead the team in digs since 2016… Eighth in the BIG EAST with 3.85 digs per set… Her 239 total digs ranked second in the BIG EAST and were tops among freshmen… Named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week on March 16.

High School: Senior year high school team finished the year ranked 20th nationally in the USA Today Super 25 rankings, going 40-3. Her junior year team went 34-8 and was ranked 18th nationally, while her sophomore squad was 39-6 and finished 17th in the poll. As a senior, named First Team All-State and a Second Team Under Armour All-American.Owns school records for digs in a season (616) and digs in a career (2,048).

Personal: Daughter of Brady and Cristy Bolton… Has two siblings, Aidan and Mya.

Awards & Honors
BIG EAST All-Academic Team (2021-22)
Dean's List (2021-22)
BIG EAST All-Academic Team (2022-23)
Dean's List (2022-23)

[dalpony]

Looks like big time talent

[Charleston Pony]

We had some really terrific transfers last year and hopefully this group will help keep SMU volleyball competitive in the ACC

[Terry Webster]

Nice picking up the tall players.

[giacfsp]

Tall is great ... but not required. If Bolton turns out to be anything like Sina Uluave (same position, I think), then she's a great addition.